Selectmen approve town Facebook page

PARIS — Outfitted with a new website and soon-to-be launched Facebook page, the Town Office is jumping into online social media with both feet.

Selectmen on Tuesday unanimously approved the creation of a Town of Paris Facebook page.

The popular social media format will allow the town office to quickly transmit important information to residents, Town Manager Amy Bernard told the board.

An effort by the Town Office to get residents to sign up for email notifications hasn’t been successful, and residents may be more tuned-in to Facebook, she said.

General Assistance Administrator Shannon Moxcey, whose services the town shares with Norway, is managing that town’s Facebook page and expressed interest in doing the same for Paris, Bernard said. Moxcey will not be paid more for the service, she said.

Negative comments will not be permitted on the page and the Town Office intends to closely monitor its content, Bernard said.

Board members reacted positively to the idea of a social media presence for the town, especially Selectman Robert Wessels, who set up a Facebook page for the town shortly after he was elected to the board last year.

Wessels’ page was removed after fellow board members admonished him for setting it up without their approval and expressed concern with privacy and freedom of information issues.

The Facebook site should be running soon, and will promote the town’s new website, which was launched last month.

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